


No, Tony Stark does not "cuddle"

by sketchibilitea



Series: Iron Mentor to Iron Dad [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter is a Little Shit, Set between Homecoming and Infinity War, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony is emotionally constipated, Uncle James "Rhodey" Rhodes, and then they leave, don't worry about them, hopefully, if i have motivation, just tony and peter developing their mentor mentee relationship in those 2 year, some random kidnappers, the rest is just tony and peter bonding i guess, they're there for like the first paragraph, this is going to be a series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:56:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23322820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sketchibilitea/pseuds/sketchibilitea
Summary: In which Tony doesn't know how to process emotions, and Peter knows too much about penguins.ORTony and Peter get kidnapped, and it's kind of chilly in the room, but there's one hitch... Tony Stark doesn't cuddle. Even for warmth.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Peter Parker & James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Iron Mentor to Iron Dad [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1677241
Comments: 21
Kudos: 226





	No, Tony Stark does not "cuddle"

**Author's Note:**

> So this is set in the time period between Homecoming and Infinity War- relatively early on, though there's no specific time point. I'll be continuing this as a series, and everything will be loosely connected (ie. same universe, maybe some references), but I don't know if it'll necessarily be in order. I'll work on that. Anyways, I hope you enjoy, and if you have any ideas for the series, let me know! (though as you know, I am notoriously bad at updating... I hope I have time to write quick one-chapter stories here and there, maybe 2-3)

They'd been thrown into the cellar, deposited roughly and left there without so much as a backwards glance; decidedly ignoring Tony Stark shouting angry curses after them. They slammed the thick iron door after them and Tony heard a click as a lock shifted in place.

"Fucking assholes." he muttered, shifting his shoulder where he'd landed on it. He eyed the boy tossed into the cell with him like a rag doll, knocked out cold, lying on his stomach with his arms and legs splayed out. Tony walked briskly over to the teen (at least they hadn't been tied up, he supposed), and rolled him over. Which, as it turns out, was a much harder feat when said teenager was just a tangled mess of heavy limbs, unresponsive to the billionaire's struggles as he tried to flip him onto his back. Eventually, by some feat of strength, Tony succeeded, and he proceeded to tap the boy's face with his fingers to wake him up.

"Hey, Parker. Peter. Spider-boy. Kid." Tony said, tapping the teen's face unrelentlessly. He remembered the only way he ever got up for his college classes on time was due to Rhodey annoying the shit out of him, and he was determined to do the same for Peter.

It turned out to be an effective move, and Peter groaned, reaching up to swat the billionaire's hand away from his face. "5 more minutes, May." he mumbled, trying to turn over to shield his eyes, but his mentor was having none of that. 

"Hey, no, you don't just get to fall asleep in my presence again, Parker." Tony said firmly. "Get up, my knees are starting to hurt from crouching for so long."

"Old man." Peter muttered, but he obliged, removing his arm from his face and squinting at the bright fluorescent light bulb hanging directly above his head. "Ow." he muttered as the light pierced his eyes and aggravated his concussion-weakened head.

"That's what you get for calling me old." Tony said, but it held no real bite, and it was proven wrong anyways when he stood up and both his kneecaps cracked like popping kettle corn. He winced and Peter grinned, standing up himself (if the dizzy staggering could count as properly standing up).

Tony's eyes raked the surroundings, taking note of the dark corners, unreached by the single bulb hanging above them. He smelled dankness and humidity, and he shivered a bit at the temperature of the cave-room. It wasn't _freezing_ , but it certainly wasn't warm enough to be pleasant, either. His eyes turned back towards his protege, noting how the lighting washed his skin out and pronounced the bags under his eyes and blood running down his temple. It made him look like a zombie. Zombie-Peter. That thought was actually pretty disturbing, so Tony pushed it to the corners of his mind, noting the way Peter shivered in the room instead. The man himself had a suit coat on, but the teen was only clothed in a science pun t-shirt and ratty jeans, shivering more and more by the second.

The billionaire sighed, shrugging off his suit coat and lobbing it at the teen, who caught it, looking confused at the material in his hands. He looked back up at Tony, bewildered, and Tony sniffed, averting his eyes and letting out a small shiver of his own now that his arms were exposed.

"What're you looking at me like that for, Parker, put the damn coat on." Tony said when Peter still didn't make a move to do anything.

"Well- but don't you-" Peter started, arms outstretched to give the coat back.

"Nope, I'm not the one who's part spider and can't thermoregulate." Tony said, and Peter looked more confused, though he did draw the material back to his chest rather than holding it out to Tony.

"How did you-"

"I am nothing if not thorough in my research, Mr. Parker." Tony said, giving a second sniff as he looked around the empty room for a distraction.

"Okay, well first of all, thank you for finally letting me speak a full sentence." Peter snarked, and Tony sniffed again. "Second, I don't know whether to be flattered or slightly disturbed."

"I'd go with flattered, kid, there's not a lot of people I waste my time on." Tony said, eyes snapping back to Peter. "Coat. On. Now." 

Peter sighed but he was shivering more violently now, and he didn't really put up a fight this time, tugging on the coat and sighing in relief as it provided some reprieve from the chill.

"If you get cold, I can give it bac-" Peter started, but Tony interrupted him, waving his hand stubbornly even as a few odd shivers raked through his own frame.

"I'm fine, kid, really."

"And here we are, back to interrupting." Peter muttered, and Tony paid him no attention, briskly walking around the cave to warm up under the pretense that he was checking for exits or clues. It was silent for a while except for the drip-drip of water somewhere and the scuffing of Tony's shoes against concrete.

"Mr. Stark, why are we here?" Peter asked when Tony gave up walking in circles and leaned against a wall instead. Tony sighed and looked over at him, at the scrawny, wiry teenager huddled in his $4000 Armani suit jacket (he was sure Peter would have a _stroke_ if he knew the price). And then Tony spoke the words that had been ringing in his head from the moment they were tossed here; the words he'd been trying to muffle with banter and humor, but that bounced to the forefront of his mind nonetheless:

"I don't know, kid."

~ ~ ~

When the four hour mark hit, it found Tony and Peter, back to back, in the middle of the room. Their fingers and toes had long since been frozen, and Tony could feel Peter's entire body shivering from where their spines were pressed together for warmth. Tony wasn't an idiot (sometimes); he knew that if they huddled closer together they'd preserve more warmth, but even this was pushing it.

Tony Stark didn't give out _cuddles_.

But that was the problem, wasn't it? Tony knew, deep, deep down, that it wasn't the cuddling that was the issue. He would have no issue warming up with Pepper or Rhodey (and maybe Happy). It was the fact that this was _Peter_ that was throwing him off. Peter, who'd already crawled his way dangerously close to Tony's heart. Peter, with his jokes and nerdy science t-shirts. Peter, with his selflessness and kind-heartedness. Peter, who had been through so much shit yet remained smiling. Peter, who was everything that Tony _wasn't_. 

Peter, his _intern_ , who he'd sworn not to get attached to yet knew all along it was a losing battle. Now it was only a matter of when. A 'when' that Tony kept desperately trying to postpone because he was _scared_. He knew Peter was far from breakable, would be furious at the mere thought that he could be thought of as breakable ( _"Like glass, Mr. Stark, and we all know that glass is replaceable"_ ), but he kept waiting for the day Peter would snap. The day he'd see the world in a negative light, start blaming people for the unfair pain he's been through. Logically, Tony knew it'd never happen, but internally, he couldn't help thinking that it'd be _his_ fault. That he'd let Peter down in a way that couldn't be fixed. So he kept his distance, not letting his emotions get in the way and holding Peter at an arm's distance so that he couldn't cross that line.

And Tony was afraid that if he gave in to the cold now, they'd cross that line ( _"That's not a hug, I'm just grabbing the door for you. We're not there yet"_ ). They'd be _there_. And Tony had no clue what to do following that.

Another shiver from the kid pulled him out of his existential crisis. Tony sighed. Peter picked it up and apparently took it as a gesture to speak.

"We both know this is stupid, Mr. Stark." Peter said quietly. Tony didn't have to ask what 'this' was. The obvious scientifically-proven answer would be to get closer together for warmth. Tony ignored it.

"I know." he muttered shortly. There was a pause and then:

"Would it help if you thought of us both as penguins?"

The unexpected question ripped a half snort/half laugh from Tony's throat. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Penguins, Mr. Stark." Peter said semi-seriously, turning around slightly to try and get a glimpse of his mentor. "They huddle for warmth. Just pretend to be a penguin."

Tony shook his head, smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, and a quiet laugh bubbled up. This kid. "I'm not lowering myself to a penguin's level, kid." he said, humor clear in his voice.

"I mean, you wouldn't have to lower yourself _that_ far, maybe just a couple of inches." Peter said cheekily, and Tony didn't have to see his face to know that he had a shit-eating grin on.

"Did you seriously just call me short?" Tony deadpanned. No answer from the kid, who was quietly chuckling. The warmth in Tony's chest was unexpected, blooming quickly and lowering his defenses just enough for him to do a rapid 180 turn and wrap his arm around the kid's shivering shoulders. As soon as he did so, he froze, the warmth shriveling and dying as the devil on his shoulder shrieked at the outward display of emotion. Peter jerked a bit in surprise, and Tony made a move to retract his arm, but Peter caught it and wrapped it back around his shoulder, tugging Tony's own suit coat over both of their shoulders. The billionaire's shoulders involuntarily relaxed at the sudden warmth, and he saw Peter give a little smirk in victory.

Tony held his breath, stance still a bit rigid, before Peter shifted and a spark of warmth reignited in his chest. _Oh, fuck it_. He decided before pulling the shivering teen closer to him. Said teen adjusted so that the two were huddled under the coat in an odd side-hug involving both arms. Both were quiet for a moment, getting used to the feeling, and Tony knew that he had officially crossed the line. But he found that he didn't mind, much preferring the warmth of the kid resting against his side versus the stiffness the two had previously.

"So... does this mean I get free cuddles?" Peter asked. Tony could feel the kid grinning against his side.

"No, absolutely not." the billionaire replied instantaneously. "Tony Stark does not give out free... cuddles." he said, the devil on his shoulder still shying away from the word 'cuddles.'

"You totally do, though." Peter mumbled.

"Watch it, Parker, or I'm taking my suit coat back and booting you in the corner to shiver by yourself." It was an empty threat and they both knew it.

"Mm." Peter said noncommittally. "Now that we got this out of the way, when do you think we can get out of here?"

"Rhodey will probably come for us soon." Tony said. He wished they were near the walls instead of in the middle of the room so that he could lean on one, but he didn't dare move and disrupt the bubble of warmth the two of them had created with their body heat.

"Better be soon." Peter mumbled, sagging further against Tony, and the billionaire gaped down at him.

"Parker, are you _falling asleep on me right now_?" Tony asked incredulously, staring down at the teen's mop of brown hair.

"Penguins." Peter mumbled incoherently, and then he was fast asleep. Tony blinked once, twice, and then relaxed again. He considered poking the teen awake again because it was _boring_ in here, but he decided against it.

Two hours later, when Rhodey busted down that iron door, he found Tony, still in the same position, with a suit coat wrapped around his and a slumbering teenager's shoulders. Tony himself wasn't asleep, and he looked up when his best friend walked in. The colonel's faceplate retracted and he raised an eyebrow at the kid, but Tony merely shrugged.

Rhodey shook his head, watching as Tony aggressively poked the teen in the face.

"Ow, Mr. Stark." he complained, squinting at his mentor, who just snorted in response.

"That's what you get for falling asleep on me and making all my joints go numb, Webs." he said, clambering up from his spot on the floor and wincing as his bones cracked.

"Old man." the teen muttered, and Rhodey watched in amusement as the duo bantered, shaking his head at his best friend.

Some things would never change.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, and yeah, please leave a comment letting me know what you thought and if you have any ideas for future stories! (And as always, if someone seems off-character, let me know so I can work that out in the future)


End file.
